Iowa HF716

[sac]

Has anyone heard anymore on Iowa's HF716 ?

Thanks Scott

[trapper9260]

Here is what I found on Iowa whitetails.com and this is what one Sen. wrote at 2 different times.

All, Senator Chris Cournoyer here - I spoke to Matt this afternoon briefly and gave him an update on where we are with HF 716 in the Senate. I appreciate those of you that have posted on this thread and those of you who have respectfully emailed me on the issue. I told Matt I would log in this evening and give you an update.

As you know, the bill passed the House on a bi-partisan vote without much fanfare. After that, the NRA sent out an email to members with the information, which must have struck some nerves, because we have been receiving a lot of emails on it all week since that happened. I appreciate your willingness to respectfully email members of the Senate Natural Resources Committee - Chaired by Senator Ken Rozenboom, a man that I admire and respect very much. He is an ethical man that takes his job as the Chair of Natural Resources very seriously and I appreciate his willingness to listen carefully to all sides before moving too quickly on this, or any other, bill that affects Iowa's Natural Resources and the Environment.

The Bill came in this week and Senator Rozenboom assigned it to me to be the Chair of the Sub-Committee. It is now up to me to schedule that sub-committee of 3 Senators that would consist of me, Senator Shipley (Republican) and Senator Celsi (a Democrat and member of Moms Demand Action and staunch anti-gun person, in fact I wouldn't bother trying to educate her on anything related to firearms because she has no idea what you would be talking about, nor does she listen to facts or reason. She only reacts to emotion and seeks to create hysteria). I spoke to Senator Shipley and Senator Rozenboom this afternoon before leaving and we are all well aware of the concerns about this bill and we are not willing to move anything too quickly that would make for bad policy for Iowa, the deer population, safety, fair chase, and growing our numbers of hunters.

With that said, next Friday will be the end of the second "funnel", meaning that any bill that doesn't make it through the funnel will not be considered this year. In order to get this bill through the funnel next week, we would need to hold a sub-committee that has 24 hours public notice (which hasn't happened yet because that is up to me). The earliest that could now happen would be Tuesday. At the sub-committee, which is open to the public, anyone who would want to speak for or against the bill would have the opportunity to do so. That includes any groups that have registered for, against or neutral/monitoring on the bill. So far this week, I have spoken to reps from the DNR, National Wild Turkey Federation, Iowa Firearms Coalition and the NRA ILA. I also spoke to Matt from this forum today. I intend to speak to other firearms experts, hunters and conservationists over the weekend to better understand the issue. I have also met with Rep. Windschitl twice this week to learn more about how the bill was run through the House.

I have come to understand that this bill seeks to ensure that the DNR Commission has language that is up-to-date and consistent with BATFE (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives). It then went on to clarify barrel length, caliber range and minimum muzzle energy. Beyond that, it seeks to address issues that have come up since we made changes 2 years ago that allowed parents to take their minor children shooting; which included kids hunting with pistols and revolvers. The final provision gives guidance to future bills that could address rules for rifles, requiring them to conform to the guidelines stated in this bill.
The additional items seem to have altered the original intent of the bill, which I think is to gain uniformity in standards and clarify / update Iowa Code so it is consistent with definitions and standards adopted by BATFE.
One option would be to amend out the other parts to get to the original point of the bill, which I would be willing to do. Another option would be to table the bill for this year to learn more over the interim so we fully understand the impact on hunting, the herd/biological and safety.

I would encourage you to continue to email us, and your energies would be best focused on the Natural Resources sub-committee (Myself, Senator Shipley, Senator Celsi and the chair of Natural Resources, Senator Rozenboom) . Those emails can be found here: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/committee...88&groupID=699

Even if we decide to hold a sub-committee meeting next week, does not mean we will move the bill, it could just be a way to get everyone in a room together and hear from the various stakeholders interested in the bill to learn more about it, so there would be no need to panic. If that happens, I would be sure to post here the day, time and location so your members could attend or send emails that we could read outloud at the meeting.

Sorry for the length of this post, but I wanted to try to explain exactly where we are in the process. I have only been a Senator for 11 weeks now, so this is new to me, but I have learned quickly and understand that we need to be educated in order to make the best policy for Iowa. Most bills that go through this process can take up to 5 years to work on before we get them right, and even then some are far from perfect Its much easier to get the bill right in the beginning than to go back and fix it later.

Thanks again, Chris

My name is Senator Chris Cournoyer and I have been assigned the chair of the Senate Sub-committee for HF716. We will not act on this bill this week as we are still learning more about it. If you would like to send me information, please email me at: Chris.Cournoyer@legis.iowa.gov. I would like to hear from you. Thanks -
Senator Chris Cournoyer, Mar 28, 2019 #164

Thanks for the emails everyone - I wanted to address a few things:
1) The Republicans that I serve with on the Senate Natural Resources are all Conservationists. We care deeply about the environment and our natural resources and we are all on this committee because we wanted to be. Not all of the members are hunters, several are farmers and some are from Southern Iowa or have property there and we have had many conversations about the deer population. It is possible to be pro-2A and someone who cares about the environment. To say those things are mutually exclusive is unfair.
2) There is a reason this bill came over from the House and was assigned to the Natural Resources committee and not the Judiciary committee. If it was a gun bill, it would have gone to Judiciary. Leadership recognized that this bill would affect hunting and DNR rules, so it came to Natural Resources.
3) No one schedules the sub-committee meeting but me. Anyone who tells you there is a sub-committee on this already scheduled is incorrect. I will meet with the Chair of Natural Resources and my other sub-committee member Senator Shipley on Monday to determine whether we will schedule a sub-committee meeting or not. This biggest issue at this point is that since its a House File bill, we wouldn't be able to amend or change it in sub-committee or full committee so we would have to pass it through both bodies "as is". We would only be able to amend it on the Senate floor during debate and I'm not sure that is the direction we want to take as this will be a busy funnel week.
4) The members of the committee are getting your emails. We are not going to rush any bill that needs work so it gets through the funnel. Most bills that are submitted do not get passed "as is" and it is not common for any bill to pass the first year it is introduced.
5) We have had several conversations about Republicans not being able to vote against gun bills. As pro-2A as we all are, we aren't unreasonable. To achieve the intent of this bill, another bill can be created that achieves the purpose without adding things to it that affect safety, the deer population, etc.

Thanks again for the conversation - I have enjoyed reading through this thread and appreciate the spirited and civil debate.
Senator Chris Cournoyer
Senator Chris Cournoyer, Mar 29, 2019 #204

[sac]

Thank you

[Iowa Fox]

Simply put the Iowa DNR has a big Deer problem they refuse to deal with. Anyone here reading the Press Citizen knows that. The herd is 10,000 in the city limits of the Iowa City area, deer are walking down the streets in broad daylight. If they do get that herd under control I've got another 10,000 just north of town I will send them.

[Smoke4320]

if not handled soon what you will have is a massive die out and it will take many years to recover

[Iowa Fox]

if not handled soon what you will have is a massive die out and it will take many years to recover

That's what everyone is hoping for. Extinct!!

[BrentD]

if not handled soon what you will have is a massive die out and it will take many years to recover

How's that? Of what are they going to die?

[trapper9260]

Some part of the state ,deer have CWD and when they have a hunt for that there is no limit on what you can use to hunt the deer with, it can be any bottle neck what ever you like from what I know of. But you can not use them in the regular deer gun season. As for Iowa City deer problem it should be open for the bow hunters. There is other cities in the state that have deer problems .

[sac]

Simply put the Iowa DNR has a big Deer problem they refuse to deal with. Anyone here reading the Press Citizen knows that. The herd is 10,000 in the city limits of the Iowa City area, deer are walking down the streets in broad daylight. If they do get that herd under control I've got another 10,000 just north of town I will send them.

Wife and I where there yesterday driving down the Coralville strip and saw 4.

[EVR]

what are the bag limits for deer in iowa area?

[trapper9260]

what are the bag limits for deer in iowa area?

One deer a permit . You want more deer you need to get more then one permit. I do the bow season and the early muzzle loaders season. I have a permit to use a crossbow during the bow season.I can get 2 deer with the permits .

[BrentD]

And there are additional tags for antlerless deer, landowner deer, and probably others that vary by region.

[Walks]

It's could to know what's going on with Hunting Regulations and Game in other States. And if it's meat, it's good to eat.

[trapper9260]

I hunt for the meat .that is why I try to get 2 a year.